How a former Beverly Hills student journalist named Journalism, the Kentucky Derby racehorse

While journalism (the industry) has been struggling with layoffs, political attacks and rapid technological change, Journalism (the horse) has been off to the races.

The racehorse with the newsy name had a first-place finish at the Santa Anita Derby earlier this month. This week he arrived at Churchill Downs, where he is widely seen as a favorite to win the Kentucky Derby on May 3.

Journalism got his name from Aron Wellman, founder and president of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. He said the moniker was inspired in part by his brief stint as a sports editor for Highlights, the Beverly Hills High School newspaper.

“I have an immense amount of respect for responsible, diligent journalists,” said Wellman, who now lives in the Rancho Santa Fe community of San Diego County.

He noted that his journalism apprenticeship came in handy during his previous career as a practicing attorney. Now a full-time horse racing professional, Wellman said he still gets to put some of those journalistic skills into practice.

“I do a lot of writing and reporting on our horses,” Wellman said. “We do a weekly newsletter at Eclipse called Total Eclipse. I've been accused a time or two of sounding and acting like a disgruntled sports writer. I embrace that with open arms, and hopefully it all bodes well for Journalism the horse.”

Aron Wellman greets Journalism’s jockey on the racetrack.

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Benoit Photo

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Courtesy of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners

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When Wellman and his team were mulling over what to name the horse, they decided they wanted a strong word ending in “-ism.” Journalism’s mother had the unusual name Mopotism, and the Eclipse team landed on Journalism as a fitting name for the foal.

Since then, Wellman said, Journalism’s name has taken on a life of its own.

“In this day and age, when the truth and responsible journalism is so critical to our society here in the United States of America, I think the name has grabbed more people than it might have otherwise in the past,” Wellman said.

He added: “We'll take all the good energy and all the good vibes that we can collect toward the horse as he tries to etch his name into the history books in the Kentucky Derby.”